The Grisha Academy of Small Science
by snarkydarkling
Summary: Alina solves Dr. Morozova's "impossible" equation and get his attention in more ways than one. Modern AU.
1. Chapter 1

**0.**

To say the graduate students were infuriated with her would have been an understatement.

Everyone at the Grisha Academy of Small Sciences knew of Dr. Morozova's infamous "impossible" equation. Nearly every student, regardless of discipline, tried hacking it at least once and failed. It was practically a rite of passage.

Alina Starkov had no intention of solving it and attracting the wrath of the cutthroat elitist grads who'd been dead-set on getting Morozova's prestigious research placement since birth.

But she had. And they weren't the only ones who suddenly took an interest in her.

The eminent Grisha Academy was the most distinguished university in all of Ravka for its exceptional calibre of scientific research and alumni. Alina had wanted to attend for as long as she could remember but the tuition was ridiculously beyond what an orphan like her could afford and without any other means of financial support, attending the academy became nothing more than a pipe dream.

That hadn't stopped her from applying, however. Just to see if she could get in. She wouldn't attend unless she wanted to be paying off the student loans until she was dead in her grave. But if she was rejected, which she was sure would be the case, then that meant she didn't belong there anyway and she could forget the whole thing and move on with her life.

But she hadn't been rejected.

She'd gotten into their physics program _with a full year's scholarship to boot_.

It wouldn't cover all the remaining year's costs, true. But her correspondence with the academy revealed that she could conceivably be awarded future scholarships if she maintained a constantly high GPA. In other words, the pipe dream she'd been fantasizing about? It was possible. Not _easy_ , by any means, but entirely possible.

And that _**scared**_ her. For the first time in her life, she'd have to leave Mal behind and try to strike it out on her own. And how could she do it without him? How could he survive without her? _No_ , she told herself. _Where I really belong is with Mal._

That settled the matter for her. The next day, she wrote to the Academy saying she would be attending Ravka State University to study geography instead. They were disappointed but wished her well and that was the end of it.

Until the infamous incident with Morozova's equation.

 **1.**

She'd left the club early, soon after Mal had disappeared from her sight along with the raven-haired girl he'd been dancing with. The girl had been wearing the standard blue uniform of the Grisha Academy that indicated she studied in the physics department and Alina could barely contain her envy.

 _That could have been me_ , she thought bitterly as she made her way back to the conference center they were staying at.

For two years, she'd successfully avoided coming into contact with snobby Grisha students, though their paths did cross on occasion. Like now, for instance. The Kribirsk Convention Center had overbooked itself once again and now Alina and her fellow classmates from Ravka State were forced to share accommodations with the disturbingly well-dressed Grisha students who swirled past them in clusters of red, blue, and purple.

"Back so soon?" Ruby asked when she entered their room.

"Yeah, I think I'm getting sick," she lied. _Sick from watching Mal lock lips with that girl._

Ruby didn't look convinced by thankfully didn't inquire any further, choosing to return to her book. Alina knew coming here was a mistake. There's no way she was going to get any sleep now, not with _that_ image of her best friend burned into her retinas. She needed a distraction so she quickly changed into something more appropriate and decided to explore the rest of the convention on her own, looking for something to keep her occupied.

As she headed downstairs towards the conference rooms, she tried not the seethe but it was hard not to. She'd gone to Ravka State _because_ of Mal; because she was sure they'd need each other to survive the big bad world. But it was obvious from the first months of their freshman year that the need was painfully one-sided. Clearly, Mal didn't need her as much as she needed him. While he aced all his classes with his eyes closed, Alina struggled and dragged herself though it.

She'd just gotten to the bottom step when she noticed a group of slightly drunk Grisha students staggering out of an empty conference room, laughing to one another. They were wearing the distinctive red uniform that indicated they studied under the biology department and Alina knew from experience that they were usually the cockiest and therefore waited until they moved out of sight.

When she peeked into the room they'd just emptied, she was relieved to see Alexei was sitting in one of the far corners of the room, hunched over his sketchbook and doodling idly. She swung open the door and made her way in, passing by a pair of blue-uniformed Grisha students who were whispering about something in hushed tones.

"What are you doing up?" she asked him as she approached. He nearly leapt five feet in the air.

" _Saints_ , you startled me," he said, recovering quickly and turning back to his sketch. "Couldn't sleep. Thought I'd get a head start on that cartography assignment anyway."

"Nerd," she teased, shaking her head.

Up ahead of the rows of seats, she noticed someone had pulled up a whiteboard with bunch of half-erased formulas on it.

"Morozova," said Alexei simply, in response to her implicit question.

"He was here?"

Dr. Aleksander Morozova was the dean of the Grisha Academy and was somewhat of a mysterious figure. Alina had never seen him in the flesh but everyone within the academic circle was familiar with him and his research on stellar evolution.

"No, he's off lecturing somewhere else. Those Grisha students just came in to crack his equation again."

"And?"

"They gave up as usual. I'm starting to think if _they_ can't solve it, it's not meant to be solved. Maybe the dean just likes torturing his students. Keeps them motivated or something."

Alina rolled her eyes. She glanced at the whiteboard which was covered in scribbles and diagrams. There was a nearly full bottle of vodka sitting idly by the floor which seemed a terrible waste to her. She walked up to the front, picked up the bottle, and chugged nearly half of it before setting it down. Alexei gaped at her in shock and the two Grisha students at the back paused mid-conversation, looking somewhat impressed.

"It was a rough night," she explained to Alexei when the burning in her throat died down. At this point, she'd do anything to forget Mal and his stupid sexcapades. She turned to the whiteboard, eyeing it warily for a moment.

The problem _looked_ simple enough. Morozova was only asking for the Schwarzschild radius of a supermassive black hole. But he hadn't indicated what the mass was; that had to be calculated separately based on the initial conditions of a binary star system before it had collapsed. And _that_ demanded knowledge on stellar evolution. She could see why so many students were struggling. The problem required a careful synthesis of information from a number of different disciplines: astrophysics, nuclear cosmochronology, black-body radiation, and ridiculous amount of math besides.

She could feel herself drawn to it already and picked up an abandoned marker. She had no delusions that she'd somehow _solve_ the damned thing but it was something to keep her mind off of Mal; something that actually interested her.

The hours went by and she scribbled down what she knew, getting drunker by the minute. She'd taken up both sides of the whiteboard for her solution plus another entire other board. Alexei had been watching her with interest, but not with any inkling of what was to come. The Grisha students occasionally glanced her way but they were sure they were witnessing the drunk scribblings of an insomniac.

When Alina put wrote down the final line (a simple substitution to obtain the radius), she didn't think anything of it. She was upset, angry, drunk, and had hardly gotten any sleep so there was so way she'd done any of the calculations correctly. Besides, she hadn't set out to be _correct_ , just distracted.

It was then that the door suddenly burst open and Dr. Raevsky yelled at them all to get out and go to bed. Alina cast a wary look at Alexei before they packed up their things and headed back upstairs. She was grateful for the hours of distraction because now she really _was_ tired and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

 **2.**

Alina Starkov's solution to Morozova's equation caused a total catastrophe the following morning.

She awoke to the sound of Alexei knocking on her door like a madman. She stumbled out of bed, hastily pulled on some sweatpants, and swung the door open.

"Where's the fire?" she spat, shooting him a death glare.

"No fire," Alexei said, "but you better come quick. And...maybe wear something more suitable."

She rolled her eyes and followed him downstairs, not bothering to change. He chose to remain silent all the way down to the conference room they'd vacated the previous night, except she could hardly see the door because there was a throng of Grisha students craning their necks and jabbing each other to try and get in.

"What in the name of Sankt Illya-"

"It's your equation," Alexei said, casting her a meaningful look. "I think you may have solved it."

Alina peered at him for a silent moment before throwing her head back in laughter. "What equation? You mean the one I drunkenly scribbled down at three in the morning?"

"It's getting pretty serious, Alina," he said, edging closer to the crowd. "All sorts of people have already claimed credit for it and now there's talk of getting Morozova to check the solution."

It was ridiculous. She'd been half asleep and half intoxicated when she'd attempted the problem. Surely, when someone much smarter than her checked the math they'd realize she'd made a colossal mistake somewhere? Still, talk of complete strangers taking credit for her work irritated her by no small amount. She pushed her way through the crowd and thanks to her tiny frame managed to squeeze into the room.

It was cramped and sweaty with the throng of people pushing and shoving each other. For a second, Alina felt like she was back in the club but she forced herself to end and took in the scene.

In front of the whiteboard was a group of rowdy biology students fighting with a girl from physics, who had an accusatory finger pointed at them. Alina recognized her as part of the pair of Grisha girls that had been in the room with her last night.

Suddenly, the girl's gaze snapped to Alina and her finger whirled around to point at her. "It was her! She was the one I was talking about!"

The crowd surrounding them scoffed. "She's not even Grisha!"

Before Alina could roll her eyes and throw them a snarky one-liner, Dr. Raevsky made his way to the front, apparently being dragged by one of last night's Grisha girls.

"See? I told you it's her! This the girl me and Nadia saw!"

Raevsky adjusted his eyeglasses, making a show of his disbelief and Alina let him peer and probe at her.

"Hmm," he said at last, as if he could no longer deny the truth. "Starkov, come with me."

He turned abruptly and made his way out of the room, the crowd parting for him. Alina considered not following him for a moment but she didn't want to be in the center of the lion's den so she quickly followed suit, ignoring the stares and whispers that followed her.

Raevsky made his way out into the main hall and gestured for her to step into the elevator. Alina complied, turning back to shoot a look at Alexei but he was nowhere to be found. She noticed a sizeable group of Grisha had started making their way towards the stairs.

Alina had no idea where Raevsky was taking her. She thought for a moment that he was just going to accompany her back to her rooms and tell her not to come downstairs again to make a fuss but the elevator passed her floor. And Mal's floor too. And the floors where the Grisha were staying.

She cast a quizzical look in his direction as the elevator came to a stop at the highest level but he didn't bother to give her any explanation. The floor they got off screamed 'exclusive' with leather lounge chairs, larger suites, and classical paintings.

"Where are we going?"

Raevsky ignored her and turned left, stopping in front of a conference room with large tinted windows. He knocked once before a staff member opened the door and Raevsky stepped in, gesturing for Alina to follow.

It was then that she realized she was inappropriately dressed. Her pajama bottoms had rubber ducks on them, for god's sakes. But she had the feeling she wasn't going to have the chance to run downstairs and change so she charged into the room, trying to look more confident than she felt.

It took her nearly a minute to process what she was seeing. There was a long black table in the center of the room which was surrounded by important looking people in both business suits and Grisha uniforms. They all turned to look at her, their eyes both curious and disdainful. She was just about to laugh and say something cheeky before slipping out the door to save herself when she caught sight of him. Only one member of the Academy wore black uniforms.

 _Dean Morozova._

He looked absolutely nothing like Alina had imaged. What with his air of mystery and genius, she'd expected some eccentric old college professor in his sixties; the kind that liked to create impossible puzzles for fun and played bingo on weekends.

Morozova was anything but.

With thick black hair brushed back, high cheekbones, and those startling grey eyes, he looked like he belonged on a movie set, not a college campus. He was stunning and unearthly, like no one she'd ever seen before. Alina realized she was staring but thankfully Morozova didn't notice. He was waiting expectantly, almost bored with it all.

Raevsky cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable. Voices and footsteps on the other side of the glass indicated that a curious group of Grisha were waiting outside. For what, Alina didn't know, but it set her teeth on edge.

"I've found her, sir," he said at last. "She's the one who attempted your equation."

Alina raised an eyebrow in his direction. It was one thing for Raevsky to address anyone as 'sir' and quite another to drag her here simply because she'd _attempted_ an equation.

"Did she now?"

With a start, Alina realized that Morozova had now honed his gaze on her, like a predatory bird ready to strike down its prey. His voice was low and languid, as if he didn't care for anything. She'd always imagined him as a figure on the move, full of too much energy, always frantically inventing something new. But this vision of him lounging in his chair with an eerie stillness was almost sinful.

"Yes," said Alina, reluctantly. "I did, in fact, _attempt_ your equation."

"And?" He seemed genuinely interested now, his fingers resting on his jaw. "What radius did you calculate?"

"Thirteen point seven million kilometers."

"And how did you arrive at that number?"

His face gave nothing away and his piercing gaze was beginning to unnerve her. If she'd answered correctly, he'd be curious to see how she'd done it. But if she'd gotten the _wrong_ answer, he seemed just as likely to let her talk nonsense to humiliate Raevsky for wasting his time.

She crossed her fingers behind her back and hoped it was the first one, no matter how mad it all was. Something told her this man did not like to be disappointed.

"Well, I calculated the mass from the binary star system. Given the gravitational waves emitted, I constructed a matrix of the possible collision course. From there, I was able to extrapolate the remaining mass of the individual stars and the forces required to bring the debris together. You gave me the black body radiation constants which I used to eliminate the mass that escaped. But you also gave me the amount of energy released during nuclear fusion, which I figured was likely a red herring to throw people off. From there I simply multiplied the corrected mass by the proportionality constant to get the radius."

Alina clenched her teeth together, mentally preparing herself for the laughter and was not disappointed. But it wasn't Morozova who was laughing, but the raven-haired physics student from the club. She was standing in the doorway, practically cackling.

"It's so cute when they're clueless," she was saying to her friend.

Morozova's eyes never left Alina's. They were more unreadable than ever. She was just about to open her mouth to apologize for wasting his time when he put up a hand and the laughing and whispering stopped.

Complete silence.

"Ivan," he said to the scowling man beside him. "Take the girl back to my office. This meeting is over."

* * *

 **A/N:** I apologize if this chapter was super-boring. I guess I had to dump a lot of information. I originally planned this as one-shot but it sort of got away from me. Currently, I'm attempting to keep it 3 chapters maximum because I don't think I have the time to commit to a super long fic :( Also, for those of you physics nerds out there, you can stop rolling around in agony and ripping out your hair. _I know the science is total BS._


	2. Chapter 2

With its towering steeples and golden domes, the Grisha Academy of Small Science emerged from the woods like a fairy tale castle. Alina watched, open-mouthed, as the car pulled into the long narrow driveway, lined by poplars and lilacs. Never in her life had she seen such splendour.

When their car pulled to a stop, Ivan stepped out and opened the door, motioning for her to follow with that perpetual scowl. Throughout their journey, he hadn't bothered to explain a thing. Every question she'd asked had been annoyingly deflected with a sarcastic remark so Alina had learned to give up.

A line of waiting servants dressed in white and gold smiled at her as she stepped out of the car and into the main courtyard.

 _A welcoming party_ , thought Alina with a lurch in her stomach. Had Dr. Morozova set this up or was this how the academy greeted all its visitors?

Ivan grunted, gestured to an uncommonly beautiful girl with bright golden eyes and red hair, who was giving Alina a sly sort of smile.

"This is Genya. She can show you around the place."

Genya snorted, surprising Alina with her gracelessness.

"Don't mind Ivan. He's completely charmless."

Ivan scowled even further before stalking away. He didn't even bother to look back. Now, he hadn't exactly been pleasurable company but Alina felt very much like she'd been kidnapped and dumped on the front steps of a stranger's house. Genya, however, seemed to sense her disorientation.

"Well, c'mon then! We're only allowed so much fun before the dean and his entourage arrive."

Alina was taken aback by her honestly but followed her nonetheless. They strolled through the tall engraved front doors as Genya began explaining the layout of the school. Alina was nearly rendered mute by the prestige and elegance of the place. She couldn't believe that she was finally here, at the place that haunted her dreams and it was more delightful than she ever could have imagined.

They passed by a hexagonal lounge where students sprawled about on long benches and elegant divans, chatting and eating. A group of biology students in standard red robes rushed in and out of their anatomy rooms, their white gloves stained with red. In the east wing, chemistry laboratories with large glass windows showed purple-robed students bent over microscopes and beakers with brightly coloured liquids. And out on the grounds by the lake were white stone structures that bordered the physics pavilions which Genya told her contained the thermodynamics workshop and aerodynamics testing facility.

When they returned to the hexagonal room to end their tour, Alina caught sight of ebony double doors with an eclipse symbol etched into the handle.

"What's through there?" she asked, already heading in its direction.

Genya struck out a hand, startling her. "That leads to Dr. Morozova's private laboratory. No one's allowed in there."

"Oh," said Alina, feeling a bit foolish. "What sort of experiments does he run?"

Genya tensed up for a moment before recovering quickly, inspecting her fingernails with an unstudied ease. "I have no idea and even if I did, I doubt I'd understand even a quarter of what he does around here. Most people usually focus on their own studies. Although...that might change now that you're here."

"What do you mean?"

Genya gave her a sly smile again. "Saints, you are so naive. I love it."

"Genya…"

"Okay, okay," the girl conceded, throwing up her perfectly manicured hands. "It's obvious you've impressed the dean somehow. I don't know how you did it but you did. And now, he's hoping you'll say yes to his offer."

"His offer? Of what?"

"Well, you didn't think he gave you this tour because he's nice, do you? Morozova never does anything unless it benefits him in some way. You've impressed him and now he wants to impress you. So far, I think he's succeeded."

Alina furrowed her brows. "So this tour was...some kind of advertisement?"

Genya regarded her thoughtfully. "You catch on quick. I think you'll fit in here in no time."

As if Alina needed to be convinced. If what Genya was implying was true, then did Dr. Morozova really intend to offer her a place at the academy? The thought seemed ridiculous. But then again, her entire morning had been ridiculous. From the equation to Morozova himself, the day had been full of surprises.

"Looks like your moment's arrived!" said Genya, looking at something behind her. "Good luck, Alina. I hope you'll consider staying."

Alina whirled around, surprised to see it was none other than Dean Morozova walking briskly into the room, followed by some important looking men in charcoal robes. All the students that had been lounging in the room immediately stood at attention, as if he were a passing war general. Then again, the amount of reverence Grisha students had for their dean had always been rumoured to border on the religious.

The dean's quartz eyes found hers in the middle of the room, sending a small jolt through her tired body.

"Alina," he called, softly but clearly. "Follow me."

She found she had no choice but to follow him as he opened the ebony double doors and strolled through, not bothering to wait for her reply. The charcoal-clad gentlemen strayed away so Alina was left alone with him as he closed the doors behind them. In front of her was a long dimly-lit corridor. The ceiling was low and curved, painted an inky blue with golden stars that mapped out various constellations. The narrow hall led to a circular room with a large ebony table. All around the room were maps of star clusters, telescope images of distant galaxies, and charts of astronomical figures. Beyond the table was an imposing and unlabelled black door whose biometric scanner told her that whatever was beyond it was strictly off-limits.

The dean followed her gaze curiously before she quickly looked away at the floor.

"Please, sit," he said, gesturing to the seat beside him as he sat down at the head of the table.

She took a seat one chair away instead and could have sworn she saw him smirk a little at this before his face returned to impassiveness.

"How did you enjoy the tour?" he asked.

"It was lovely," she rushed to say. "This place is beautiful and you have so much new equipment."

That was understatement. The Grisha Academy made Ravka State look like a deplorably-funded kindergarten. Her fingers were twitching just to see what sort of wonderful contraptions laid beyond the black door.

"Did you see inside the physics pavilions?"

"Er, no, I don't believe we had the time." Genya had more or less listed the facilities but Alina wished they'd had the chance to take a look inside. The aerodynamics lab had sounded particularly enticing.

"That's a pity," he said. "We do have outstanding facilities. Much of our funding comes from Prime Minister Lantsov, who has been incredibly generous towards our research."

Alina didn't doubt this. The academy itself could have easily passed for an imperial palace in some other time. She felt his keen gaze, assessing her again as she idly fidgeting with the hem of her shirt.

"I've brought you here," he said after a pause, "because you've done the impossible. You've solved an equation that no one has ever come close to solving in all the ten years I've put it up."

Alina let out an involuntary laugh. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"What's so funny?"

She shook her head. "This is crazy. I mean, I was always good at physics and I've always had an interest in stars and planets. But you're making it sound as if I'm some kind of genius."

"You are a genius," he said, completely serious. The way he looked at her made the laugh die in her throat. It almost felt possessive.

"What have you brought me here to ask?" she asked, evenly. Alina felt like if she spoke too loudly, she might suddenly wake up and find herself in her bed, mourning a beautiful dream.

He leaned back in his seat and sighed softly. "I've looked through the application records. You were accepted here last September with a full year's scholarship but you declined, stating you were attending Ravkan State to major in geography."

It took her a moment to realize he was awaiting some sort of explanation. She didn't exactly have one. At least, not any rational one. She realized that it did look rather stupid on paper. She had turned down Ravka's top science academy to go study something useless at a public institution. And she'd wasted a year of her life chasing Mal for what?

"I...I don't know. I guess I was still trying to figure my life out," she offered lamely.

Dr. Morozova leaned forward, his grey eyes pinning her on the spot. " _This_ is where you belong, Alina."

Saints, the way he said her name was sinful.

"Are you offering me a seat at the academy?"

"No."

Alina felt like she'd been punched in the gut. She knew it. It had all been a big sick joke. She'd never solved the question, not even close. Morozova was a sadistic bastard and he'd driven her all the way to the academy and given her a tour just to show her all the splendour and prestige that she would never be a part of. She wanted to scream. She wanted to-

"I'm giving you a research placement."

" _What?!_ "

Alina nearly fell out of her chair. She wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. Some part of her still wondered if this was part of a joke. It was rare for undergraduates to get any sort of research experience, save for fetching coffee and cleaning out dirty beakers. And Morozova wasn't hinting at any old research placement. He was referring to _the_ research placement. The one Grisha students would probably commit homicide for: _Dean Morozova's_ research placement. He wasn't offering her a position as a student. He was offering her a _job_.

She didn't trust herself to speak.

"For the past decade," he explained, "I've been conducting a very complicated experiment. Not many of my contemporaries have been able to grasp the theoretical concepts involved. The equation was just the beginning. I wanted to set up a test to see who would be bright enough to solve it. I never imagined I'd have to wait so long for a person with enough potential."

"And you think that because I've solved your equation, I can help you with your research experiment?"

"I know you can."

Alina shook her head. "But I don't even know what this experiment is. I don't even have a degree. I don't have-"

He put up a hand, effectively silencing her. "Look around you. This place is filled to the brim with intelligent people with advanced degrees, academic awards, and all manner of experience. But not one of them ever cracked my equation. And not without lack of trying. Some of them have tried for years. But you solved it in an under an hour. It was like second nature to you because you're not like them. You're special. Gifted."

It was hard not to melt with delight at his words. She swallowed, picking her next words carefully. Every atom in her body was screaming at her to say yes, to accept the position.

"What is your experiment, exactly? What do you do here?"

He plucked an invisible piece of lint from his sleeve. "You'll find out once you sign the NDA."

That threw her for a moment. An experiment that required a non-disclosure agreement? She'd never heard of such a thing before, unless the experiments were military.

He shrugged, noncommittally, as if he didn't think much of it. "Our prime minister's idea of ensuring no one steals my work."

She nodded quickly. Of course, she forgot: Morozova was brilliant. It made sense that he'd have to hide much of his research if he wanted to avoid less talented people copying him. Wasn't that what happened with Tesla and Edison? It made perfect sense, didn't it?

"Would I still take classes here? Would I be a transfer?"

"If it suits you," he said with the same sort of indifference. "The way I see it, you could leave this place with only my research placement as experience and get a job anywhere you like."

Well, that seemed a bit presumptuous. Suppose she was rubbish at his experiment? Suppose the experiment he'd been conducting for the last ten years took another ten years to complete? No, she wanted some kind of insurance.

"No, I want to take classes. Major in physics, at least."

He seemed a bit disappointed by this. And honestly, Alina didn't even know why. He was head of the Grisha Academy for Saint's sake. Shouldn't he be happy at people want to attend his school?

"Then I'll make arrangements," he said after an assessing look. "Technically, my area of research also falls under physics but we don't have an astrophysics program at the academy. We can place you in a general physics program but what courses you take are up to you. I must warn you that balancing school and work could prove difficult in the first few months. Will you accept these terms?"

Alina felt like she might just go supernova herself. She wanted to run down the halls and scream with excitement. Saints, she wanted drive all the way back to Kribirsk to scream in _Mal_ 's face. Was it really possible that this is where she belonged? That even though she'd rejected her seat here a year ago, destiny had a found a way to give her a second chance?

"Yes," she said firmly. "I accept."

For the first time, Morozova smiled.

"I've been waiting for you a long time, Alina," he said. "You and I are going to change the world."


	3. Chapter 3

**1.**

Alina Starkov was talk of the town.

Everywhere she went, students either gazed at her with starry-eyed expressions of respect or glowered at her while scheming her demise. It was a startling and unwelcome difference from Ravkan State, where she was only known as Mal's nameless friend. She didn't like the attention. The reverence was harder to deal with than outright hatred.

Genya had showed her to her rooms and given her a set of beautiful black Grisha robes. She stared at herself in the mirror, watching the way the uniform fit her perfectly. The moment she walked out the door, the whispers would start. Now she wished she'd convinced the dean to let her wear the blue uniform of the physics department so she could blend in.

Alina let out a long sigh before opening her door and strolling out, ignoring all the double-takes she got as she went down for breakfast. She'd no sooner chosen an empty spot at a back table when a whole group of students zeroed in on her.

"I knew you'd solved it!" said Nadia. She was wearing the standard blue uniform but Alina noticed the cuffs of her sleeves were embroidered with silver. Aerodynamics.

"It was just like those bio majors to steal credit for your work," said Marie from beside her. Her cuffs were embroidered with red instead. Thermodynamics.

"It came as a surprise to me as much as anyone," Alina said evenly. She didn't want to offend these people but she also didn't want to have a crowd of people watching her eat. "Would you...like to sit down?"

The girls looked thrilled as they took a seat, followed by every other student in the vicinity. They all quietly began eating, but Alina was sure they were waiting for her to say something. For what exactly, she didn't know. She was saved by the sudden loud entry of a group of students bursting through the main entrance.

Standing at the front of the group with both hands on her hips and holding court with an oncoming crowd of curious people was the raven-haired girl who'd laughed at her the other day. The one who'd been locking lips with Mal at the club. Alina suddenly felt like she might vomit.

"Ugh," scoffed Marie, looking in the crowd's direction. "Zoya's back."

Nadia looked similarly disappointed and for a moment Alina was delighted to have a pair of friends who hated Zoya as much as she did but as soon as the beautiful girl reached their table, Marie and Nadia were suddenly her biggest fans.

"Oh, Zoya! We missed you so much!"

"Was the conference fun, Zoya?"

Alina couldn't believe what she was hearing. Finally, Zoya turned to her, and gave her an assessing look from head to toe, mentally cataloguing every fault she found. Her eyes finally came to rest on the black of her uniform.

"Why are you wearing that?" she snapped.

No greetings, no introductions, just straight to the point.

"Dean Morozova has given me a research placement," Alina said, wishing not for the first time that she'd opted for blue uniforms instead.

Zoya clicked her tongue but it was hard to read what she was thinking. Finally, she forced a smile and said, "Congratulations. Let's hope you last longer than expected. Given that you have no prior experience, I imagine this will be a challenge you're looking forward to tackling. But please, drop me a line anytime you think you might need a little extra help...adjusting."

She whirled away, her blue coat billowing behind her before Alina had a chance to respond. To everyone else, it might have sounded like a polite invitation. But Alina knew a threat when she saw one.

"Don't mind Zoya," Nadia said finally, when the girl in question was out of earshot. "She thinks she can treat people however she likes because she's the dean's favourite."

"Well, _that_ ," added Marie, "and because she was the closest one to solving his equation before Alina came along. To be honest, I'm relieved Zoya never solved it. She's already insufferable now. Can you imagine how much more terrible she'd be if she got the research placement?"

Both girls burst into laughter but Alina looked over her shoulder at the retreating figure, feeling a surprising mixture of sympathy and understanding. After all, jealousy wasn't an emotion that was foreign to her. If she'd spent her whole existence trying to solve an equation and some random newbie had snatched it away in a few short hours, she'd be understandably pissed to. Though...if she could somehow manage to get into Zoya's good graces, her knowledge could prove useful.

2.

Alina's first few weeks at the academy raced by in a whirl of exciting new classes, new names and faces that she promptly forgot, and a growing pile of homework assignments. She grew to dread her mealtimes, if only because the whole school seemed to show up to ask her intrusive questions though her newfound friends were quick to deflect nosy strangers if they pried too much.

Zoya, predictably, avoided talking to Alina if she could help it. Whenever they had a class together, Zoya would take every opportunity to try and upstage her. Alina decided the best strategy was not to react. She complimented Zoya often and tried to show her she wasn't a threat, but if anything, that just enraged the girl even more.

When she wasn't frantically trying to keep up with her homework, Alina was anxious to start her research post. Dr. Morozova had yet to brief her or even set a start date despite the fact that she'd signed the NDA weeks ago. She didn't know what he was waiting for but Genya assured her that the dean was probably just allowing Alina time to get used to her surroundings before unloading more responsibilities on her shoulders.

"I just wish he'd put me out of my misery," Alina complained. "All this secrecy and waiting is making me nervous."

The pair of them were making good use of their spare afternoon by lounging on the grassy slopes that overlooked the lake. By now, the early autumn sun was gentle and the grass beneath them undulated in the cool breeze.

"Just relax," said Genya, who looked like she didn't have a care in the world. "Morozova's a busy man. Besides, this is probably the first time in ages that someone else is coming into his private lab. He has to get things ready for you. Did you think of that?"

"Maybe I just want to whine in peace," Alina retorted. "Did you think of that?"

Genya rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to say something when they were both started by the sudden sound of camera flashes. Alina propped herself up on her elbows to see what all the commotion was about. Up by the winding road that led to the main entrance were a group of at least twenty paparazzi-one of them inexplicably and badly disguised as a rosebush-all aiming their cameras at a young man with his hands in his pockets, out for a leisurely stroll.

"Saints have mercy," cried Genya, her mouth falling open. "Is that who I think it is?"

No sooner had the words left her mouth that a whole group of giggling girls in red, blue, and purple rushed forward from various parts of the grounds to greet the mysterious stranger, all of them blushing and talking at once.

"Who is that?"

Genya shook her head in disbelief before standing up. "It's the Prime Minister's youngest son."

The Prime Minister _youngest_ son.

Alina started a little before following Genya to the gathering crowd. Even years after the Opjer scandal, the sight of Nikolai Lantsov was still a startling reminder of Ravka's steamy political past. There was a reason why the Lantovs kept pushing their elder son, Vasily, into the spotlight whenever possible, despite the fact that he spent most of his days drunk or driving expensive sports cars (sometimes both, with disastrous effects). There was a reason why Nikolai avoided hanging around the Houses of Parliament, choosing instead to do most of his schooling abroad, in various European cities or simply touring with his naval fleet, away from prying eyes and nosy reporters.

Alina hadn't seen Nikolai grace the cover of the tabloids in years but as they drew closer, she was startled by the young man he'd grown up to be. He sported a Harvard clip, his golden hair glistening in the afternoon sun, his handsome features schooled into a devilish smile. Alina had often thought he reminded her of a cunning fox as a child, but now he reminded her more of a wolf.

Almost as if he'd known she was watching him, Nikolai lifted his gaze away from his horde of chattering admirers to where Alina was standing at the edge of the circle. Immediately, the students dispersed, creating a makeshift path for him. She thought that in another life, Nikolai would have made a good fairytale prince. Or maybe a crafty thief.

"So, this is our new star student," said Nikolai, flashing her an insufferable grin. "I've heard a lot about you."

From whom exactly? Alina bristled. Prime Minster's son or not, she didn't appreciate his attention. Especially not with so many paparazzi trailing after him.

"She's not interested," said Genya, with a surprising level of familiarity. "I'm sure Alina will make lots of mistakes during her time at the academy, but _you_ don't have to be one of them."

"I can't imagine why," said Nikolai, who seemed far from offended. "I'm always on my best behaviour."

Alina didn't believe that for a second but she couldn't stop herself from asking, "What did you hear about me, exactly?"

If news of her snagging Morozova's placement was already making rounds, she wanted to know what people were saying.

"I've heard a lot of good things. But they never mentioned you were so beautiful."

Genya snorted loudly and Alina scoffed. Before she could reply, Nikolai swiftly took her hand and barely brushed his lips to the back of her palm, his hazel eyes holding something mischievous in their gaze. Alina was painfully aware of the sound of camera flashes and audible gasps.

"I can tell you all about it sometime," he continued. "Over dinner, perhaps?"

 _Unbelievable_. Did he want her to get murdered by his fan club? He was still holding her hand, waiting for an answer. She pulled it away like she'd touched burning metal.

"Over my dead body, more like."

3.

Mere hours after rejecting Nikolai's ridiculous proposal, the entire academy was gossiping about it. In the physics common room, Marie and Nadia were squealing over a tabloid that had published a full-sized photo of Nikolai kissing Alina's hand right on the front page. The headline screamed _RAVKA'S SWEETHEART SPURNED BY STAR STUDENT_.

"Saints, Alina!" said Nadia, giggling uncontrollably. "You have _got_ to read what Nikolai said about you!"

Alina had been trying her best to ignore the whole disaster but this caught her attention.

" _What_?" She stood up from where she'd been lounging on the sofa and snatched the paper out from Nadia's hand. "Are you kidding me? He gave an interview?!"

Seething, she began to read the whole ludicrous article:

 _Ravka's favourite playboy is back from Paris and he's ready to share the love! But will the object of his attention return his affection? Nikolai Lantsov-rumoured lovechild of Lady Ana Lantsov and former Fjerdan ambassador Magnus Opjer-was spotted walking around the grounds of the prestigious Grisha Academy of Small Sciences, home of the country's best and brightest. According to eyewitnesses, the charming heartthrob had eyes only for new star student, Alina Starkov. Nikolai reportedly kissed her hand and spontaneously proposed marriage, but the cold and frigid Starkov declined, stating she was already entangled in a passionate and secret love affair with an esteemed professor at the academy!_

 _"It's so tragic we can't be together," stated Nikolai, who generously stayed behind to answer our most pressing questions after the love of his life ran away in tears. "She's so conflicted, you see. And who can blame her? Love affairs are such a tiring business. I had about five in the last year and I'm thoroughly worn out."_

 _When asked why he was attracted to such an average-looking girl, he said, "She's smart and I'm ridiculously good-looking. Our children would be perfect. And I thought we'd make a good pair, don't you?"_

 _No word yet on how his latest girlfriend, French actress Veronique DuBois, is taking the news. See page 5 for more steamy details!_

Alina took in a deep breath and tried to exhale slowly, fighting the temptation to scream bloody murder. Her hands had unconsciously curled into fists so the edges of the tabloid was now wrinkled and torn. She prayed to the saints that Nikolai Lantsov was nowhere near the grounds of the academy because if he still was, she couldn't be held responsible for what she might do to him. She whipped the tabloid back into Nadia's hands and stormed out of the common room, determined to get some fresh air.

No sooner had she leapt out into the hall that she smacked straight into Dr. Morozova. He put out a hand to steady her and suddenly her anger melted away, replaced instead with anticipation. One look at the dean and all thoughts of murdering Nikolai melted from her mind. She hadn't seen him in weeks and was suddenly struck again by how attractive he was. Black certainly suited him. There was something solemn yet mysterious about him. And his striking grey eyes only added to the effect. Alina hadn't realized she'd been stupidly staring at him until he raised an eyebrow.

"Everything alright?" he asked.

She prayed he hadn't heard the rumours but Morozova's didn't seem the type to sit around and read tabloids so she shook her head.

"I'm fine. Did you need anything?"

"Actually, I came to see you. If you're ready, we can start your orientation."

Finally. The prospect couldn't have come at a better time. She agreed immediately and followed him down the hall towards his private lab. For weeks, she'd been aching to know what was behind that ominous door. Now she was about to find out.

When they reached the entrance, Morozova placed his thumb over the biometric scanner and waited. The lock beeped and then prompted him for a six-digit code, which he entered as 5-8-2-1-7-4.

"The string of numbers changes every day," he explained. "We'll get you an access card so you can bypass the fingerprint scanner."

"How will I know what the code is?"

"You'll have to do some math. I'll show you the equation we use but it's essentially a function of Unix time and the number of times someone has entered the lab that day."

Wow. Talk about security overkill.

The door slid open and as Alina followed Morozova inside, it took her a long moment to register what she was seeing. It seemed to her that they were standing at the base of a giant hollow sphere, it's towering and curved panelled ceiling stretched nearly twenty stories above them and she felt dizzy just looking at it. It was like walking into Cerebro.

"Welcome to the Stellatron," Morozova said, carefully watching her shocked reaction.

"Saints, it's enormous! What is this thing?"

"I'll show you. Follow me."

He led her up a set of winding metal stairs set into the back of the dome that she hadn't even noticed. She clutched the rails as they climbed, feeling more and more dizzy and terrified. At the top of the stairs, they entered a control room that was full of computer screens and hundreds of buttons. Here, the rest of the sphere was separated by tinted glass.

Morozova took a seat in front of the main computer and gestured for Alina to sit beside him. She silently obeyed and watched through the tinted glass. Protruding from both the top and bottom of the sphere were long metal rods that barely met in the center. Morozova typed something into the computer and for a fraction of a second, a bright flash erupted from the middle of the rods and then disappeared just as soon as it came.

"What was that? What is this place? You haven't explained anything."

Dr. Morozova leaned back in his seat and rested his hand on his chin, looking as relaxed as she'd ever seen him. His grey eyes watched her carefully and Alina found herself blushing slightly, but she had no idea why. Saints, why did she always act like such a prat around him?

"The Stellarton is an experimental particle accelerator. We collide high velocity gravitons through super-heated plasma confined in a rotating magnetic field, creating a controlled nuclear fusion reaction that lasts a thousandth of a nanosecond."

He paused, waiting for his words to sink in. Alina's mouth fell open.

"Hang on...a nuclear fusion reaction? Like the kind that happens in the sun's core? Are you _crazy_?"

To her complete surprise, Morozova laughed. The traitorous part of her decided he had a great laugh, the kind that curled her toes.

"Not crazy, just optimistic."

"Optimistic about what?"

"The kind of reaction we create here is very tiny. Any larger and the entire facility would burn down from the heat and energy. Instead, we only generate a small amount of heat energy, some which escapes as light. That's the flash you saw a few moments ago. We're hoping to find a way to efficiently harness the energy created here. You can imagine the implications if that were possible."

Alina nodded. As tiny as the reaction was, it generated a ridiculous amount of energy in a fraction of nanosecond. Enough to power an entire city for a second. If they could store it somehow, then that would change everything. Ravka would change.

"And that's the problem you want me to work on? Figure out how to store it?"

"Not exactly," he said, pulling out a piece of paper. "I need you to solve an equation."

"Oh."

If Morozova could see her disappointment, he didn't react to it. He pointed to two sets of equations written side by side on the paper in an elegant black script-no doubt, his own.

"The key to solving our problem is trying to reconcile these two equations. I need you to find a mathematical proof. The process can be accelerated by optimizing these key variables. But you can only find their optimums through experimentation. Hence why I'm giving you access to use these facilities."

"That's great but I have no idea how to control anything in here."

"It's entirely automated. It can run 24/7 with minimal or no supervision."

"That's...very impressive. Who wrote the programs for that?"

"I did."

Alina blanched. "Wow. A man of many talents, then."

Single-handedly designing the facility was one thing. But writing an entire control system to automate it was another. Usually it was done with whole teams of software engineers over years, yet Morozova had clearly taken great pains to ensure the facility remained as private as possible-from design to execution.

"Who else knows about this place?" she asked.

He raised his palm and began counting: "You, me, Prime Minister Lantsov, the Ministry of Defense, and our materials engineer, David-you'll meet him tomorrow."

The Ministry of Defense? That was odd. Alina would have thought the Department of Energy would have been a more obvious choice. He seemed to read her unvoiced question and shook his head.

"Of course," he said, "you already know that whenever a country develops nuclear energy, nuclear weapons follow closely behind. We've made an agreement with the Ministry of Defense so they don't use our research for their own agenda."

"Of course," said Alina, slowly.

But still, why tell them at all?

4.

When Alina returned to her rooms, there was a bouquet of blue roses sitting on her table, accompanied with a card. She'd never seen such flamboyant roses and touched them to see if they were even real. They were.

She pulled open the card and blanched at the words inside:

 _Dearest sweetheart,_

 _Pick you up Saturday at eight. Don't be late._

 _-N.L._


End file.
